The field of the disclosure relates generally to electronically pairing devices or objects, and, more particularly, relates to a scanning system for quickly and efficiently pairing multiple devices.
Aircraft cabins may include a number of output devices (e.g., lights, vents, entertainment systems, etc.) that are remotely controllable by a control panel, or controller, located, for example, on or near a user's seat. In at least some known systems, custom wire harnesses directly connect a controller to an output device. However, the custom wire harnesses are typically heavy and inflexible. Accordingly, in at least some other known systems, controller and output devices are in wired or wireless communication with one another, and each output device has a unique network address. The output device responds only to commands directed to the unique network address. This reduces the amount of wiring and allows output devices to be moved relative to controller, but requires the controller to be associated with the unique network address of the device being controlled.
Current systems and methods for pairing controllers and output devices are somewhat inefficient and error prone. For example, at least one method for pairing devices over a network requires the devices to first be connected to the on-board network, and requires detailed location information as well as a learning mode for entering unique IDs for each output device to be controlled. The location information and unique IDs are manually entered for storage in a table. This method has multiple possible points of failure, include the initial acquisition of location information and unique IDs, and manual entry of data into the table (which is time consuming, tedious, and often involves transcription errors). Further, in at least some known systems, a user operates a hand-held device to pair each controller and output device. However, such methods are not automated (relying on the user to identify which controller should be paired with which output device), and do not have the capability to continuously receive and update position information for detectable controllers and output devices.